Man on the Moon

President John F. Kennedy's 1961 proclamation that astronauts would be sent to the moon before the end of the decade was a harbinger for America's space program. Kennedy's dream came to fruition on July 20, 1969 when millions of Americans tuned in to watch Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong step out onto the moon's Sea of Tranquility. Subsequent Apollo missions would focus on studying the moon's magnetic fields, solar winds, soil structure and meteoroids.The second moon landing occurred just four months later. This image from that Apollo 12 mission shows astronaut Alan L. Bean collecting lunar soil from the Ocean of Storms. The commander of this particular mission, Charles Conrad, Jr., is reflected in Bean's helmet.